| Historical and philosophical reflections on patient autonomy. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 11794834 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Contemporary American medical ethics was born during a period of social ferment, a key theme of which was the espousal of individual rights. Driven by complex cultural forces united in the effort to protect individuality and self-determined choices, an extrapolation from case law to rights of patients was accomplished under the philosophical auspices of 'autonomy.' Autonomy has a complex history; arising in the modern period as the idea of self-governance, it received its most ambitious philosophical elaboration in Kant's moral philosophy. In examining the Kantian construction, it is evident that neither his universal moral imperative nor his rigorous application of self-legislated ethical action can sustain our own notions of moral agency in a pragmatic, pluralistic society. But the Kantian position is useful in highlighting that self-governance is not equivalent to 'autonomy,' and this distinction defines the limits of autonomy in the clinical setting. A critique of Engelhardt's idea of 'principle of permission' is used to illustrate autonomy's eclipse as a governing principle for medical ethics. |
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Authors:
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A I Tauber |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: Historical Article; Journal Article |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Health care analysis : HCA : journal of health philosophy and policy Volume: 9 ISSN: 1065-3058 ISO Abbreviation: Health Care Anal Publication Date: 2001 |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2002-01-17 Completed Date: 2002-02-21 Revised Date: 2004-11-17 |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 9432537 Medline TA: Health Care Anal Country: England |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 299-319 Citation Subset: E; H |
Affiliation:
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Center for Philosophy and History of Science, 745 Commonwealth Avenue, Room 506, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USA. ait@bu.edu |
Export Citation:
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| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Bioethical Issues* Ethics, Medical / history* History, 20th Century Humans Patient Participation / history* Patient Rights / history* Personal Autonomy* |
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